A MIDDLESBROUGH student died after drinking heavily at a party and falling from a chair, an inquest heard.

But vital evidence over the amount of alcohol in the dead man’s blood was not preserved properly and could possibly have been switched, Teesside Coroner’s Court heard.

Matthew Adam Hepburn, 22, of Pevensey Close, Middlesbrough, was discovered dead on the first floor of a terraced student house in the town’s Clairville Road on September 25, 2006.

His mother, Susan Hepburn, told the hearing she and her son had talked on the phone the day before about the fact a former colleague of Mr Hepburn had recently been killed in an accident.

The inquest heard evidence that Mr Hepburn, originally from Gloucester, who weighed 20 stone, was 6ft 4ins tall and was a keen rugby player, had been at a student party and was found face down on the floor having last been seen asleep in a chair.

Deputy Teesside Coroner Anthony Eastwood heard that Mr Hepburn had some bruising and grazes to the right-hand side of his face and body consistent with a fall.

Tests later revealed that his blood contained 387 milligrams of alcohol in 100millilitres of blood - four-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit. Home Office pathologist Dr Bill Lawler, who carried out the post-mortem examination, said he believed the cause of death was acute alcohol poisoning.

Blood samples taken during the autopsy should have been placed in bottles containing a preservative. But instead they were placed in “vacutainers” which had no preservative.

Doubts were also raised after evidence was heard that the samples were originally thought to be placed in small yellow-topped bottles - but arrived at the forensic laboratory in longer grey-topped containers.

Forensic scientist Marcus Donahoe, who carried out the blood tests, said the fact the samples had not been preserved properly was unlikely to change the result greatly as the blood had been frozen and the bottles placed in sealed, labelled bags.

However, Sefton Kwasnik, representing Mr Hepburn’s family, argued it was “possible” the evidence could have been tampered with and “the sample could have been transferred from one container to another.”

“So it’s possible the container inside the bag is not that described outside the bag.”

Det Sgt Ian Craig said “popular and well-liked” Matthew was in his third year at Teesside University and worked as a doorman in Darlington. “Some witnesses said he was a regular binge drinker, regularly drinking 20 pints of alcohol in a night,” he said.